Connecting People and Resources for a Healthier Charleston
How can stronger connections help improve health across Charleston?
When people and organizations share knowledge, connect resources, and build relationships, they are better equipped to address community health needs together. That is the progress taking shape through the Tallahatchie County Community Consortium and Charleston Thrives.
Supported by Tougaloo College Delta Health Partners, the Consortium brings together health care providers, community organizations, educators, local leaders, and residents to discuss health priorities, share information and resources, and strengthen partnerships across Tallahatchie County.
On Aug. 25, the Consortium met at the James C. Kennedy Wellness Center for its quarterly gathering. Dr. Catherine Moring, executive director of the Wellness Center, led a conversation about “Maternal and Child Health” and everyday ways people can support their well-being. The discussion included breastfeeding, diabetes and monitoring A1c and glucose levels, balanced meals with fiber, and the importance of vitamin D.
The value was not only in what participants learned, but in who was learning together.
Dr. Moring and Shirley Williams of Tougaloo College Delta Health Partners serve on the Charleston Thrives Health & Well-Being Working Group. MyKeyia Neal, executive director of I Am MS Inc., serves on the Education Working Group, and Lillie Smith, owner of Lilly Rose Bed & Breakfast, serves on the Economic Opportunity Working Group.
Their participation shows another way Charleston Thrives is “Making Progress Together.” Each working group is advancing its own priorities, but Charleston’s opportunities and challenges do not always fit neatly within one focus area. By connecting across working groups, members can bring different perspectives, experiences, and resources together around issues that affect the community as a whole.
Health is one of those issues. Health & Well-Being members can bring knowledge of health needs and resources; Education members can consider how those needs affect children, families, and learning; and Economic Opportunity members can bring perspectives on how health connects to individuals, workplaces, and a strong local economy. Learning together helps members return to their own work better informed, more connected, and better prepared to identify opportunities to work together.
That is why this is a Charleston Thrives progress story.
The Consortium is creating a place for people to learn from one another and build the relationships that can lead to healthier families and a stronger Charleston. Members of three Charleston Thrives Working Groups are helping carry those connections forward.
By bringing those connections back to their work, members can help turn shared learning into continued progress across Charleston.
If you see progress happening across Charleston, we hope you will share it with me and with each other.
Email cheryl@sonedna.com.
Charleston Thrives is a community-led effort supported by SonEdna Foundation that brings people together to recognize progress already happening across Charleston and carry it forward together. Through shared experiences, conversations and participation, Charleston Thrives helps people see their place in the future of the community and how they can help shape it. Focus areas include Government & Civic Engagement, Education, Economic Opportunity, Health & Well-Being, and Culture & Arts. Follow how Charleston Thrives is Making Progress Together: Facebook.com/sonednafoundation | Instagram.com/sonednafoundation | and at Linkedin.com/company/sonedna-foundation.
